As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
APPAREL or TEXTILES
All articles of clothing, cloth or goods, produced by weaving,
knitting, or felting, or any similar goods.
[Added 9-7-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-12]
BIDDER, CONTRACTOR AND SUBCONTRACTOR
A.
Any person or business entity submitting a competitive
bid for, receiving the award of, or submitted for approval as a subcontractor
on a contract by any one of the contracting agencies. A subcontractor
on a contract for the purchase of apparel or textiles shall also include
any beneficiary of bankruptcy, assignment, transfer, sale of operations,
or other successorship intended to evade liability or responsibility
for assertions or certifications made in a bid submitted to or contract
with the City of Ithaca or a contracting agency.
[Amended 9-7-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-12]
B.
A corporation, partnership or proprietorship
shall be considered to be an affiliate of the bidder or proposed subcontractor
if one owns, controls or has the ability to control the other, or
if a third person, corporation, partnership or proprietorship owns,
controls or has the ability to control both.
CONTRACT
Any purchasing, construction, or service contract, including
those that are required to be let by competitive bid to the lowest
responsible bidder, but not including the individual purchase of employment-related
apparel or textiles, e.g., uniforms, by and for individual employees
of the City of Ithaca, pursuant to the provisions of a collective
bargaining agreement.
[Amended 9-7-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-12]
CONTRACTING AGENCIES
Any agency or department of the City which is letting a contract
through competitive bidding.
SWEATSHOP-FREE
Refers to a supplier of apparel or textiles that are manufactured
and/or assembled without violating the wage and hour, labor, safety,
health, environmental, building, fire, or anti-discrimination laws,
rules, codes, regulations or standards that are applicable in the
country of manufacture or assembly, or that are contained in the International
Labour Organization (ILO) Core International Labour Standards (whichever
is stricter).
[Added 9-7-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-12]
[Added 9-7-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-12]
A. Pursuant to the Policy Statement on Sweatshop-Free Procurement of Apparel and Textiles, adopted by resolution of the Common Council on September 7, 2011, the City of Ithaca and its contracting agencies shall enter into contracts to purchase or obtain for any purpose any apparel or textiles only with those bidders confirmed to be sweatshop-free, as that term is defined in this chapter, except as set forth in Subsection
39-4B, below, and subject to the provisions of Subsection
J, below.
B. In the event that the City Controller has certified that no confirmed
sweatshop-free bidders of apparel or textiles are available and that
the acquisition of the apparel or textiles sought is essential or
time-sensitive, the contracting agency may select a bidder that is
not confirmed to be sweatshop-free.
C. For the purpose of implementing the City's policy, a bidder
may be confirmed to be sweatshop-free by either of the following means:
(1) Certification as such by the Sweatshop-Free Purchasing Consortium
or other comparable independent monitoring organization as selected
by the Common Council; or
(2) Self-certification by affidavit of the bidder, provided that such
certification is not contradicted by credible information received
by the City Controller.
D. The City Controller shall collect and maintain information concerning
the City's apparel and textile contracts that are awarded after
the effective date of the enactment of this section, and shall ensure
that the following information is available to the public, upon proper
request:
(1) For each such contract, a statement from the contractor that such
apparel or textiles are manufactured in accordance with the sweatshop-free
criteria set forth in this chapter;
(2) A list of the names and addresses of each subcontractor to be utilized
in the performance of each such contract;
(3) For each such contract, a list of each manufacturing operation of
the contractor and all subcontractors involved in performance of the
contract, and the location, address, and telephone number of each
such facility; and
(4) For each such contract, a statement signed by the contractor showing that it agrees that it will, at the request of the contracting agency, allow independent monitoring of the contractor's or any subcontractor's facilities, to verify compliance with the requirements of this section, and that the contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that its subcontractors comply with the independent monitoring requirements of this Subsection
D.
E. Upon information and belief that a contractor or subcontractor may
be in violation of this section, the City Attorney may take such action
as may be appropriate and provided for by law, rule or contract. In
circumstances where a contractor or subcontractor fails to perform
in accordance with any or all of the requirements of this section,
and there is a continued need for the service, a contracting agency
may obtain the required service as specified in the original contract,
or any part thereof, by issuing a new solicitation of bids. Administrative
charges may be assessed against the breaching contractor by the City.
The City may, as appropriate, invoke other sanctions as are available
under the contract and applicable law.
F. A contractor shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than
$5,000 upon a determination, made through litigation or arbitration,
that a contractor or subcontractor has made a false claim under the
provisions of this section, to the contracting agency.
G. Every bid solicitation for supplying apparel and textiles to the
City shall contain a statement notifying bidders of the provisions
and requirements of this section. Every contract for the supply of
textiles and apparels shall contain a provision or provisions detailing
the requirements of this section.
H. Any investigation conducted under the provisions of this section
by the City Attorney shall not extend to work performed more than
two years prior to the filing of a complaint pertinent to any provision
of this section or the commencement of the investigation, whichever
is earlier.
I. This section shall not apply to any contract entered into prior to
the effective date of this section, except that renewal, amendment
or modification of such contract occurring on or after said effective
date shall be subject to the conditions specified in this section.
J. This section shall apply except when federal or state law precludes
the City of Ithaca from attaching the procurement conditions herein.